How Trump Is Using Barron's Popularity For His Own Gain

Former President Donald Trump's latest campaign strategy seems to be all about his youngest son, Barron Trump. Amid TikTok edits praising Donald's opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, and plenty of memes about her newly-announced running mate, Tim Walz, Trump, understandably, appears to be attempting to appeal to young voters. His latest ploy? Using 18-year-old Barron's "best friend" to represent his Gen-Z fanbase. 

In April 2024, popular influencer Bo Loudon shared a photo with his more than 100,000 followers on X, formerly known as Twitter, which featured him posing alongside Donald and Barron. "Hi! My name is Bo Loudon, I'm a 17 year old pro-Trump activist, and I make content every single day to reach out to young voters," he wrote. He added, "I'm doing everything I can to help Rightful President Trump and Trumplicans WIN in November. RT and follow if you're in!" It's not particularly surprising that Bo is a self-proclaimed pro-Trump activist. His dad, John William Loudon, is a Republican senator, and his mom Gina Loudon, known as Dr. Gina, is a conservative talk show host, as well as a co-chair of "Women For Trump." Now, as Donald's race for a second term as President heats up, Bo tweeted about his support once again. On August 5, he posted another photo of him posing with Donald, and the info he shared in his caption makes it clear that Donald is thrilled about Bo's support.

"It's always an honor getting a photo with my FAVORITE PRESIDENT, but this was time was different and much more special," Bo Loudon captioned a photo of him and Donald Trump giving thumbs-up. He explained, "Trump asked how I was doing, double checked about 5 times if I got a photo, made sure everyone knew that I'm best friends with his son Barron [Trump], and told them all how great my mom [Gina Loudon] and I are." Loudon ended his tweet, saying, "Trump truly has the biggest heart ever. Gen-Z Stands With Trump! Share to make this go viral!" The behavior Loudon claims Donald displayed during their most recent run-in could have simply been kindness extended to a supporter. Yet, it likely goes deeper than that. 

It's always an honor getting a photo with my FAVORITE PRESIDENT, but this was time was different and much more special.

Trump asked how I was doing, double checked about 5 times if I got a photo, made sure everyone knew that I'm best friends with his son Barron, and told them... pic.twitter.com/WTRf7BZ5id

— Bo Loudon (@BoLoudon) August 5, 2024

Donald's reported insistence on getting a photo with Loudon and his desire to tell people that Loudon and Barron are friends may mean that he hopes to tap into the influencer's young fanbase. Loudon tweeted the photo on the same day that Donald did an interview with Adin Ross, a popular yet controversial 23-year-old streamer. During the interview, Donald told Ross that Barron is "a big fan" of the internet personality and noted, "My sons told me about you. They told me about how big — Barron, he said, 'Dad, he's really big," per Newsweek. Evidently, Donald is making a push for young votes, and he's using Barron as his connection to Gen-Z.